The Balkans

Revolution, War, and Political Violence since 1878

Mark Biondich

Examines the origins of the political violence that has bedevilled the Balkans since the late nineteenth century

Treats the region as an integral part of wider European history, shaped by much the same forces and intellectual impulses

Shows how political violence in the Balkans was a product of modernity and the ideology of integral nationalism

The Balkans

Revolution, War, and Political Violence since 1878

Mark Biondich

Description

The Balkans has long been a place of encounter among different peoples, religions, and civilizations, resulting in a rich cultural tapestry and mosaic of nationalities. But it has also been burdened by a traumatic post-colonial experience. The transition from traditional multinational empires to modern nation-states has been accompanied by large-scale political violence that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the permanent displacement of millions more.

Mark Biondich examines the origins of these conflicts, while treating the region as an integral part of modern European history, shaped by much the same forces and intellectual impulses. It reminds us that political violence and ethnic cleansing have scarcely been unique to the
Balkans.

As Biondich shows, the political violence that has bedevilled the region since the late nineteenth century stemmed from modernity and the ideology of integral nationalism, employed by states that were dominated by democratizing or authoritarian nationalizing elites committed to national homogeneity. Throughout this period, the Balkan proponents of democratic governance, civil society, and multiculturalism were progressively marginalized. The history of revolution, war, political violence, and ethnic cleansing in the modern Balkans is above all the story of this tragic marginalization.

The Balkans

Revolution, War, and Political Violence since 1878

Mark Biondich

Table of Contents

Preface1. Nations, Nationalism and Violence in the Balkans2. From Berlin to Lausanne: The End of Empire and the Demarcation of National Communities, 1878-19233. Democracy, Dictatorship and War, 1923-19454. Communism, Nationalism and Political Violence, 1945-19895. War and Transition since 1989Conclusion: Whither the Balkans?ChronologyBibliographyIndex

The Balkans

Revolution, War, and Political Violence since 1878

Mark Biondich

Author Information

Mark Biondich is an Adjunct Research Professor at the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, where he teaches on the Balkans and nationalism and ethnic conflict. The author of Stjepan Radic, the Croat Peasant Party and the Politics of Mass Mobilization, 1904-1928 (2000), he is currently completing a history of Croatian fascism.

The Balkans

Revolution, War, and Political Violence since 1878

Mark Biondich

Reviews and Awards

"Biondich's well-researched book is a welcome addition to the literature on this subject...Recommended." --CHOICE